They meet different people and go different places but the best moments are their quiet times together with their dog, a mini family bonded by a love they are too timid to acknowledge at first. They go to the beach and play with other people’s children; Penny listens to her newborn niece coo on the phone.
When the end comes, it’s bitter but it’s also sweet – the best end of the world that could possibly be filmed. Those moments are what you want them to be: the celebration of new life or the imminence of untimely death. Two sides to every coin.
It’s hard to call Seeking a Friend for the End of the World a romantic comedy but it is the best one I’ve seen in years, and without the stupid clichés and Hollywood conventions we are all so sick of. Writer-director Lorene Scafaria took the apocalyptic genre from darkness to light skilfully, celebrating characters that sometimes fall to the lowest of lows but are also capable of soaring to the highest of heights, and being beautiful at it.
Blu-Ray/DVD
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is presented by Focus Features as a Blu-Ray/DVD combo (including Ultraviolet Digital Copy) in 2.35:1 aspect ratio that looks amazing. The audio quality allows for the full enjoyment of the film’s great soundtrack. There are optional English, Spanish and French subtitles. Bonus features include cast and crew commentary, outtakes (8 min), featurette (4 min) and Music for the End of the World (2 min), interesting for fellow survivalists as cast and crew members share their end of the world playlists.
Verdict: Humanist art, of cinema in this case, isn’t dead. Existentialists still ask their big questions, and sometimes even tap into some important answers. So what would I do before the end of the world? Watch movies like Seeking a Friend for the End of the World hand in hand with someone I love.
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